Had I been drinking water, I would have spit it out. Had I been eating a sandwich, I would have started choking. Had I been walking, I likely would have fallen over.

As it was – thankfully – I was sitting down when the Missouri Republican Party issued the following statement this week from Chairman David Cole:

"Just like all of our GOP candidates elected in the August primary, the Missouri Republican Party stands behind Congressman Todd Akin in his race for United State Senate."

It does? Perhaps the Missouri GOP thinks we all have incredibly short memories, but it wasn't that long ago when Republicans on the state and national scene were singing a different tune.

For example:

- Aug. 21, Sen. Roy Blunt calls Rep. Todd Akin's comments on "legitimate rape" "totally unacceptable" and calls for him to drop out of the race.

- On Aug. 28, Former Sen. Kit Bond called Akin's remaining in the race "tragically unfortunate."

- On Aug. 20, Sarah Steelman tweeted that Akin's remarks were "inexcusable, insulting and embarrassing to the GOP."

Gov. Mitt Romney, Rep. John Boehner, heck, even Rush Limbaugh called for him to get out. I was receiving multiple emails each day from state and national GOP press offices, mostly ripping Akin to shreds and making it clear that if he stayed in, he was running alone.

But now, just a little more than a month later, the Missouri Republican Party stands behind Rep. Todd Akin?

About the only thing that hasn't changed in the last few weeks is the motivation behind these statements.

Majority status in the House and Senate (and White House) is all that matters to party leaders on both sides. It matters little what kind of person is being sent to Washington, just so long as he or she has the proper animal affixed to their lapels.

As a result, nothing is getting done. Party extremes are in power and refuse to reach across the aisle – something necessary, but seen as a sign of weakness – to accomplish anything.

Consider the 112th Congress, which left Washington last week for the campaign trail. It will be known for partisan bickering and stalemates that led to just 173 successful pieces of legislation.

Compare that to 1948, when the group President Harry Truman famously labeled the "do-nothing Congress" produced 906.

I shudder to think what Truman would have said about this bunch.

We need people willing to participate in a democracy, because it takes bipartisan relationships to actually get things done. Demand this of your candidate. It's time to stop keeping score by the "Ds" and "Rs" and look for candidates who have the guts to get in the trenches.